Pepsi Center, Denver

Posted February 01, 2011

Located in downtown Denver, the 725,000-square-foot (67,352-m2) Pepsi Center is home to the NBA's Nuggets, as well as the NHL's Avalanche. About 110,000 feet (33,528 m) above center court, just below the metal decking roof system is an intricate structural steel beam and joist system with two 24-foot (7-m) Powerfoil X fans from Big Ass Fans. With the facility routinely transformed to accommodate the sport at hand, cooling the space for ice hockey was not as much of an issue as heating it back up for the Nugget's games, which was an expensive endeavor. Big Ass Fans were installed to destratify the space, pushing the warm air trapped at the ceiling level down to the floor.

"We'll start a hockey game at a floor temp of around 58 F [14 C] and at the end of the game you end up with 65 F [18 C]. With a basketball game the following day, a floor temperature of 70 F [21 C] is required," said Craig Smith, director of engineering. Prior to the fans, heating the facility would take six to seven hours given the sheer magnitude of the space. "We had to stack heat. At the top of the bowl it might be 85 F [29 C] before you hit 70 F on the floor."

By thoroughly mixing the air with Big Ass Fans, the heat trapped at the ceiling is pushed down at the occupant level, significantly reducing the temperature differential while simultaneously contributing to the thermal comfort of the occupants. As a result, less thermal conduction is lost through the walls and roof as well, decreasing the amount of heating energy used. Capitalizing on the heat from the 140 kW of sports lights on the ceiling, Craig said, "We let the Big Ass Fans run continuously and pull the heat off the lamps to maintain the temperatures at the floor cutting many hours of run time off of the air handlers and the boiler system."